European Union Film Festival concludes in Goa; bouquet of 24 films presented

Panaji, September 1: Putting the spotlight back on the latest European cinema, the European Union Film Festival concluded in Goa on Friday with a screening of A wedding (Luxembourg) in which actress Neena Kulkarni has acted. The festival organized by the delegation of the European Union is brought to the state by the Cinephile Film Club of Entertainment Society of Goa.

 

In its 23rd edition this year, the European Union Film Festival featured a bouquet of 24 contemporary and award-winning European films from various countries like Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Lithuania, Croatia and Sweden. The festival screened movies from varied genres ranging from comedy to gripping family drama, romance, and adventure, bringing some intriguing stories for cinema enthusiasts.

While most of the films were lightweight, there were some unusual stories depicted here – the lines of reality are blurred when the cyber world comes to life; a play done by a motley cast of antiheroes provides an opportunity for redemption; a man stuck in an unhappy marriage practices unusual ways to assert his freedom; a music critic finds his father irksome when they both begin to compete for the attention of an attractive psychotherapist; and three Kurdish siblings come together unexpectedly in a hair-raising journey during which they are pursued by angry relatives.

 

Some of the well-known films at the festival included Labyrinthus (Belgium) about a 14-year-old and a computer game, Cowboys (Croatia) which was their official entry at the 87th Academy awards, House without a roof (Germany) about Iraqi siblings who grew up in Germany, Kills on Wheel (Hungary) a comedy-drama, A wedding (Luxembourg) about a Pakistani girl in Europe, the Crystal Bear winning Slovak film, Little Harbour and the highly acclaimed Danish film Land of Mine, which earned a Oscar nomination.

Along with the Delegation of the European Union and Entertainment Society of Goa, the Directorate of Film Festivals and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, were also a part of the festival.